Zambia Independent Tabloid

  PRESS STATEMENT For Immediate Release Date: 20th July 2026 Issued by: Media Liaison Committee (MLC), Zambia The Media Liaison Committee (MLC) notes with deep concern the detention of journalist MacPherson Mukuka. MLC is a media industry body committed to upholding professionalism, media independence, and the constitutional right to freedom of expression in Zambia. We are alarmed that a journalist can be detained for work done in the public interest. Such actions undermine Zambia’s democratic principles and create a chilling effect on investigative reporting. We call on the relevant authorities to immediately and unconditionally release MacPherson Mukuka. Detaining journalists for their reporting sets a precedent incompatible with a free and open society. Zambia’s current legal framework, including provisions in the Cyber Crimes Act and other statutes, uses vague language that can be misused to undermine critical reporting and investigative journalism. We therefore urge Parliament...